The Masked Mans Pupil
by DGJ
Summary: The world is in its most Warring state. The Child of Prophecy, a tale as old as times finally comes into light. The countries are on the brink of an all out war with each other and themselves. A savior willing to do what's right will step out of the shadows and bring everyone to peace. AU Story. Naruto x Konan.


**The Masked Man's Pupil**

"You'll never amount to anything, you should just give up!"

"You're just a deadlast loser and that's what you'll always be!"

"Dobe! Deadlast! Loser! Demon!"

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. Today in class they were asked to speak about their dreams out loud and of course, his dream was to become the Hokage so that's what he spoke about. A lofty goal, but he knew if he put his mind to it, he could achieve it one day. Sandaime-jiji told him that.

He quickly regretted having spoken up.

He decided today he wouldn't be going to the academy anymore. He could care less about trying to get others approval now. Today he decided that he would drop his happy-go-lucky mask and prove everyone wrong.

He would become the strongest shinobi to ever step foot in this accursed world. He would bring peace to everyone. Even if he had to force it. He didn't want others to suffer the same way he did. He thought back to what that man said, what was his name… Madara? Yes, Madara told him about his goal to achieve world peace.

He would put everyone under a dream, another dimension, and they would live out their dreams. A place where the dead would live once again. He would get to see his parents again! He would live out his best life in this other dimension.

X x X

"I accept your offer, Madara-sama. I will help you create this dream world of yours."

Naruto had thought a lot on what Madara had said and he believed that Madara's plan was perfect, he would be able to stop all wars, and people could see their loved one's again. People would be able to live their most inner desires. Who wouldn't want that?

"Good. As of today, you are now my pupil."

X x X

Naruto had been training for one month now. Madara had been training him to the ground. Everyday he had to complete 1000 push-ups, 1000 sit-ups, and 1000 squats. After that he would have to spar against these weird white beings named Zetsu.

So far, Madara had just worked on his Taijutsu and physical strength. Soon they would start working on speed. To build speed one needed to be have the physical strength to do so. It wouldn't do well pulling a muscle because you weren't prepared.

Madara continued to watch Naruto as he completed his daily regiment. He would soon give Naruto great power. The power of the Six Paths. He could see Asura's chakra inside of Naruto. All he would have to do is implant some of his cells into Naruto and combine them with his, he himself had the chakra of Indra so it wouldn't be too difficult.

The next thing he would do to speed up the process is take Indra's other reincarnation, Sasuke Uchiha's eyes, and implant them into Naruto's. He would do this discreetly and trade Sasuke's eyes out with another Uchiha's. The young boy was driven by hatred and he would probably try to manipulate him later in life.

He would make a good puppet indeed.

X x X

Naruto had just finished his second month of training. He still kept his strength workout, but now he would have to sprint around the base Madara lived in. He would have to sprint 100 laps daily, a total of 50 kilometers.

His training was harsh but he could tell he was improving. He was getting stronger and faster everyday, the Kyuubi's chakra, his Uzumaki blood, and the Gedo Statue help him recover faster than others. He was sort of cheating in a way but he was still putting in the work.

After completing his speed and strength training, Madara had started teaching him how to wield weapons of all kinds. Katana's, tanto's, staff's, kunai, shuriken, but what really piqued his interest was the Gunbai. Madara had used it and Naruto fell in love with the weapon. At first he thought it was a stupid weapon, but when Madara showed him what it could do he was hooked.

Madara had him use of all these weapons so he could find out which one suited Naruto best. Naruto knew that the Gunbai was the weapon he would choose in the end. Madara told him once he showed enough proficiency with it he would get his own custom Gunbai.

X x X

Month number three was interesting. Madara started teaching Naruto the basics of chakra. By now Naruto had awoken the Sharingan. His cells were infusing nicely with Madara's. Sasuke's eyes were perfect for Naruto, indeed.

In this month, Naruto had learned tree walking and water walking. Madara then had Naruto work on the Leaf splitting exercise along with walking on rivers with harsh torrents. After the month Naruto's chakra control was better than most genin.

Madara worked Naruto from Dawn to Dusk. As cold hearted as Madara was, he started looking at the boy like the son he never had.

Naruto was happy the other day when on his Birthday, Madara had given him a custom made Gunbai. It was a pitch black with blue flames on the edges and three tomoes on the flat board. Madara had inscribed a seal on his Gunbai so that only he could wield it.

When Madara saw how Naruto had reacted to getting a present, he couldn't help but smile himself. He had shocked himself with that. The last time he had smiled was a long time ago, when his brother Izuna Uchiha was alive.

He decided that Naruto would be the only person he cared for in this world, no-one else but him. He would protect Naruto so that one day Naruto could live happily in the World of the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

After spending so much time with the young boy, he had started to regret his actions from 12 years ago. The night of the Kyuubi attack. He was starting to become soft, and he knew it. This young child was showing him the positives of life again.

You see, Madara wasn't always the War-Monger people made him out to be. He was a child once too, he had a mother, a father, and a brother that he deeply loved, but war had taken all of them from him. He was left alone, losing everything.

Soon after that he had formed the Leaf village with Hashirama, everything had been going great until the Uchiha clan betrayed him. They were scared of his power, along with the Senju. So he decided to defect from the village.

He read the stone tablet, and what it said made sense to him. That night, he decided to take the Kyuubi from Konoha and defect from the village. Everything didn't go as planned though, he was forced into an all-out battle with his best friend, Hashirama Senju.

He didn't want to fight his friend, but he had to for the greater good. He didn't care who got in the way of his dream, he would achieve it no matter the consequences. For the greater good. Like the stone tablet had said.

He would complete his mission in life, the Tsuki no Me Keikaku.

X x X

Naruto had now been training for 4 years, he was now 16 years old. He had grown his hair long like Madara's, with one side of his face covered. He wore a dark black kimono along with dark black anbu style pants. On top of his kimono he wore black battle armour, with some armour over his hip area as well, covering his part of his lower body.

Naruto had activated the Rinnegan in his right eye and the Mangekyou in his left. Madara had planned to have a white Zetsu absorb his chakra and transform into him. Naruto thought he had killed Madara by accident and he activated his eye prowess.

Madara was astounded with the power Naruto had achieved. He had never seen a Rinnegan eye like the one Naruto had before. It had six tomoe instead of just the concentric lines. Madara trained Naruto, both in the Mangekyo and the Rinnegan.

Naruto's abilities with the Mangekyo were Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi, his Rinnegan gave him the power of Amenotejikara. It allowed Naruto shift, or rather teleport and replace himself with objects. He also had the power of the Six Paths. Deva, Preta, Asura, Human, Animal, and the Naraka Path. Although he hadn't fully mastered them yet.

Naruto greatly surprised Madara when he used Mokuton. Madara saw himself in the young blonde. By now, Naruto had most of his abilities. He was confident Naruto could take on all five kage and win.

Overall, Naruto had become stronger than himself, Madara Uchiha. He was proud to say the least. Naruto had finally surpassed him. Madara was hit by a lung disease earlier this year and he was currently sitting in his deathbed with Naruto at his side.

"Naruto, I have one last wish for you. I want you to bring pride back to the Uchiha name. As well as become the Kage of any village. Forget about the Tsuki no Me Keikaku. I have realized that first we should try to find peace first by trying to understand others, but if worst comes to worst then you can begin the Tsuki no Me Keikaku." said Madara.

"I promise I'll achieve both tou-san. I won't let you down." said Naruto. Madara smiled at the boy, he had been delighted when Naruto started calling him by Father. He had lived a long time, longer than most people, yet no-one had ever affected his heart as much as Naruto.

"Take care of yourself Naruto, I will disconnecting the Gedo Statue from myself and I will die almost instantly." said Madara.

Naruto nodded. He knew Madara saying to take care was saying that he loved him and cared for him. Naruto had not regretted leaving the Leaf to spend his time with Madara, who treated him better than everyone back in the Leaf.

Madara had told him they threw a village wide party when he disappeared. He wouldn't do anything to them though, he was long past getting revenge. He wouldn't let hate and revenge run his life.

"Goodbye, Naruto." said Madara as he disconnected the Gedo Statue from himself. His world soon started to fall into a dark abyss. Naruto smirked when he saw that Madara had died with a smile on his face. He was glad to be the one that helped Madara find peace within himself.

Naruto quickly wiped some tears from his sleeve and sealed Madara's body into a scroll. He would bury him later on top of the Hokage Mountain, where his face should have been.

X x X

"Zetsu!" called out a loud and powerful voice. Laced with precision chakra control to the vocal cord area. Something Madara had taught Naruto two years ago when working on higher levels of chakra control.

"Yes Naruto Sama/ **What is it?**" asked Zetsu(s)

"Is Amegakure still stuck in their civil war?" he asked. For the past seven years or so Kiri's new Mizukage had begun slaying anyone.

"Yes, there is a new group by the name of The Akatsuki, they are trying to overthrow Hanzo the Salamander/ **Led by a man named Nagato Uzumaki. He has the eye prowess of the Rinnegan.**" Finished the black half of Zetsu. Naruto raised his eyebrow, in interest.

It took Naruto a good while to get used to Zetsu's dual personalities. At first he thought Zetsu was just a oversized plant, until it spoke and it freaked him out.

"All right. I will be leaving at dawn tomorrow to Amegakure to help free them of wretched man's control. After that I'll probably head to Kirigakure to end the bloodline purges." he said, getting his things ready for the journey he would have ahead.

"Make sure to have White Zetsu's clean the base up while I'm gone. I wouldn't want to come back to a shithole. This place means a lot to me so please take care of it."

"**Will do**/ Naruto-sama." both Zetsu's said in unison as they disappeared into the ground to meet with spies in Kirigakure.

'It's about time I make myself known to the world… I won't fail you Tou-san'

X x X

The Next Day

Naruto had been travelling at breakneck speed. It would take him about a day and a half to reach Amegakure no Sato from his base located in Hi no Kuni if he travelled non-stop.

He was currently passing by a small town located on the outskirts of Ame by the name of Santan. He had decided to rest as he had been travelling for the past 12 hours without a break.

He noticed how much more modern the buildings looked in Ame. Even though this wasn't the main village there were skyscrapers all over, along with the non-stop rain. It was a beautiful sight indeed.

As he walking to check in at the Local Inn. He heard muffled sounds of what sounded like a group of men, and a girl shouting?

He walked to where he heard to the sounds coming from and noticed some thugs were beating on a blue-haired girl that seemed to be around his age.

X x X

Five Minutes Earlier

"Hey little girlie you're coming with us, by force if we have to. Hanzo-sama likes pretty young things like you. He'll give us good pay for this, ain't that right boys?" said one of the thugs.

"Yeah!" the group of thugs shouted.

The girl couldn't believe her eyes. She had just evaded another group on her way here, she couldn't catch a break. She tried to keep walking, ignoring the men.

"You know what, I think we'll ruff' ya up a bit before handing you over. By the time we get back to Amegakure you'll be fine. Nobody said there was a time limit." he said as he swung and hit the young girl.

She was knocked down and she got hit again, and again. _'Is this how it all ends?' _She thought as they kept on beating on her.

"Move out of the way guys, it's time I have a little fun, besides we need to make sure she's holy before giving her to Hanzo-sama." said one of them, probably the leader of the group, as he started unbuckling his belt.

Her eyes widened, she tried to move, anything. She couldn't do anything. The men held her down. She started crying, this made the men laugh even more.

X x X

Now

As the men were laughing, all of sudden the area became 50 degrees colder. Naruto had flared his chakra. The men froze. They slowly turned around and they swore they saw their deaths.

Naruto barely came out of hiding, and this was the first thing he saw. He was beyond pissed. He would kill every single one of them except for their leader who he would torture for information.

"Is there a reason why you men are ganging up on a young girl?" Naruto said in a cold tone

"U-u-um-We-w-" tried to speak the Leader but he couldn't get anything out. This made the men even more fearful of this stranger.

Konan sat there with wide eyes. This man, had frozen all of these men... with just his glare? She was thankful for her savior. If he didn't arrive who knows what they would've done to her.

Naruto formed a half ram seal, **"Tajū Mokuton Bunshin no Jutsu!" **said Naruto as he formed wood clones. They quickly disposed of the group of men, which was around eight of them and he walked up to the leader, slowly.

As Naruto got closer the man's trembling kept on getting worse and worse. '_I'm sorry Madara but this man deserves what I'm about to do to him_' he thought as he walked up to the man, activating his Rinnegan.

The man's knees buckled and he fell on the ground. Naruto finally reached him and put his hand out, reaching just above the man's head, "**Kyūkon no Jutsu!" **he said as he absorbed the man's soul, taking his recent memories.

"Ah, so that's where they are." he said out loud. He then walked towards Konan and she slowly crawled away, having been scared by the man's abilities to kill these men like it was nothing gripped her heart in fear, "It's okay I promise I won't hurt you, My name's Naruto what's yours?" he asked in a warm gentle tone.

"Ko-Konan. Th-thank you for saving me." she said.

Naruto reached out his hand and she took it slowly. As soon as she stood up her knees buckled making her fall, luckily Naruto had caught her, a slight blush crept across her cheeks from being in close contact with her savior.

Naruto smiled and she broke the eye contact, "Hey, I was just about to rent out an Inn. Would you like to stay with me? I can also pay for you to have your own room as well." he asked her not knowing if she'd feel comfortable sharing a room with a man especially after what almost happened.

She nodded. He smiled once again and carried her bridal style as they walked to the place. She would be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying the way she was being held. She had been travelling by herself for around three years now, she was alone and hopefully this man would let her travel with him. He was strong and maybe if she decided to travel with him she could become strong as well.

Her family had been killed in a attack done by Hanzo and his men. Her parents had sacrificed their lives for her and ever since she's been trying to survive and make way for herself in this cold world.

It didn't help that Hanzo had men everywhere.

"So Konan-san, what's a beautiful girl like you doing by herself in a small crime-driven town like this?" asked Naruto, breaking her out of her thoughts.

She felt her face heat up, but then she frowned remembering why she was running, "I was running away from another group of thugs and ran into those men that you just… killed. I've been travelling for a while now ever since my home village had been destroyed by Hanzo..."

She felt Naruto's grip tighten at the mention of the man's name. She wondered if Naruto would be able to defeat him, "So how about you Naruto-k-san?" she quickly caught herself.

"I'm here to kill Hanzo." he stated boldly and she gasped, almost falling out of his arms. She was already injured enough, a fall wouldn't do her any good.

"Wh-what!? Are you crazy?!" Everyone that had tried to overthrow him had failed. She didn't know Naruto much but she didn't want him to just throw his life away like that.

Naruto sighed, "No, I'm not crazy. I'm just stating facts." he said confidently. The way he said it made her believe in him though, even if a small part of her thought he was still crazy she believed that he would do what he said he would do. She smiled and dug her head into his chest.

Naruto just looked at her with his lone eyebrow raised. He saw she had fallen asleep. He shrugged and just kept walking towards the Inn.

As she fell asleep she knew one thing. She loved this warmth. If she could, she'd stay like this forever. In a world so cold, it was good to have some warmth for once, in the arms of the man who had saved her from a fate worse than death.

X x X

Later That Night

Konan had been asleep for 4 hours now. Naruto just sat off to the side and read some scrolls Madara left for him. They were on the Mokuton. So far the only thing he could do with the Mokuton is create Wood Clones.

He still doesn't know how he supposedly 'surpassed' Madara, as the man had said to him.

When Madara told him he was surpassed he thought the old man had gone senile. How could he surpass a man only rivaled by the Shodaime Hokage? Madara explained to him saying that if his 16 year old self fought him, Naruto would win. He also said that with time he will grow even more powerful than he ever was.

Naruto smiled slightly as he remembered his father figure. He still hadn't gotten over his death. It had been easier to move on though since he had 'killed' him once, but he still couldn't get over the fact that the man was now gone.

He was broke out of his thoughts as he heard Konan stirr in her sleep, slowly getting up. She wiped her eyes and tried to make sense of where she was and how she got here.

"Where am I?"

"We're in a hotel room, you fell asleep on the way here." said Naruto. Still reading Madara's notes.

Konan had a pink hue on her cheeks, '_Oh yeah, I fell asleep in his arms after he saved me.' _She thought and smiled. She looked over to him to see what he was doing and she saw he was reading.

"Thank you." she said softly. Naruto felt something in his heart hearing her tone, the way she said it, it made him feel warm inside. He already knew what she was thanking him for but he had to ask.

"For what?" he asked.

She walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek, "For saving me baka what else, you saved me from a fate worse than death. I honestly thought they were going to rape me yesterday and then dispose of me… but you saved me. So thank you."

Naruto felt his face heat up. She saw this and smirked, but changed the subject. Curious about what Naruto was reading, she asked, "So… what are you reading?"

"I'm reading my Father's notes on Kekkei Genkai and such." he said, glad that she had changed the subject. He wasn't the best with women. Growing up in a secluded environment with weird plant like creatures does that to you.

X x X

Back at Naruto's Base

"ACHOO!" sneezed hundreds of Zetsu's at the same time.

The main Zetsu spoke up, "**Someone must be speaking about us**/ It must be Naruto, I wonder what he's doing, right now?" finished the White Half.

X x X

Back At The Inn

Konan frowned slightly. She wished she had gotten shinobi training. She quickly schooled her features though as she responded.

"Oh, I wish I could've become a shinobi. I've never had anyone to train me though." she said dejectedly. Maybe if she had shinobi training she wouldn't have to be so scared of low life thugs anymore, wait… "Hey I hope you don't mind me asking but could you teach me?" she asked, hoping he'd say 'yes'.

If he could teach her, then she could defend herself. She knew he was powerful, and if she could even achieve some of his power, she wouldn't have to be as afraid anymore when she was out and about. _'And I could probably spend more time with him too. Wait! What I'm thinking?! You just met him Konan… relax. Plus, someone of his stature probably has plenty of woman after him already.' _she sighed.

Naruto thought about it for a moment _'I could probably get to know her more like this. I'm not going to lie she is beautiful. She probably wouldn't be interested though_…' he sighed dejectedly but Konan didn't notice it luckily. Either way, he would try. You never know what the outcome would be unless you try.

"Sure, I'll train you. It'll be hard work though, and lots of it, I won't go easy on you just so you know." he said.

Konan felt like squealing, but she wouldn't do that. Never. She had a mask to keep up. Although that didn't mean she couldn't drop it slightly in front of Naruto. She just smiled and said, "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

He smiled, _Naruto-kun huh…' _he thought as he responded,"Hmph. No problem Konan-chan. We'll start once you're healed up and good to go." he said going back to his book.

She felt her cheeks heat up a bit, '_Konan-chan?' _She thought as she laid back down and fell asleep with a small smirk gracing her lips.

X x X

The Next Day

Naruto had awoken early the next day, it had become a habit since Madara always woke him up early in the morning to train daily. He got up from his bed, as he saw Konan's still, sleeping form. He saw her eyes slightly had bags under, he wondered how long it had been since she had gotten a good night's sleep.

He caressed her hair while she was asleep, he knew she had to be the prettiest girl he's ever seen. Her pale skin, and her exotic hair color. None of the girls he saw while out and about with Zetsu could even compete with Konan. He quickly stopped though as he didn't want to scare her off.

He put on his shinobi gear and walked outside to go buy some food for himself and Konan. Today he had a lot of work to do. Now that he had Konan with him it would put his schedule back a bit but he didn't mind. He had time, lots of it. There was no rush.

He found a cafe three blocks away from the Inn. He created a Wood Clone just in case someone would try do harm Konan. He walked up to the cash register, as the employee spoke up.

"Hello, what could I get for you today sir?" asked the young woman. Blushing slightly. Naruto being completely oblivious, responded.

"I would like two orders of your special 'Dango Deluxe' and two orders of green tea please."

She nodded and wrote everything down, "Will that be all today, sir?" she asked and Naruto nodded, "Okay, it'll be ready in 5 minutes. Thank you for waiting." she said as she headed to the back to complete his order.

"Sounds good." said Naruto as he walked to a table and sat down. He pulled out another scroll of Madara's and began reading, his eyes widened when he saw the title of the journal entry though.

'_Kyuubi Attack - October 10th...'_


End file.
